Cold start, foul trouble hamper Hornets in loss

By Jeff B. Flinn

Published 12:00 am, Thursday, December 30, 2010

A cold-shooting first quarter and early foul trouble spelled problems for the East Central Hornets in a Dec. 21 holiday contest against the Judson Rockets in Judson Gymnasium, where the Hornets came up on the short end of a 60-47 final.

And while the Hornets lost in their first-ever game in the new Judson Gymnasium, coach Jeff Sweet hopes the outcome is different in its next five games there.

With East Central's gymnasium undergoing heavy renovation, the Hornets have been a road team to this point in the season, featuring eight road games and appearances in three tournaments.

“We don't have a gym, we haven't played one game at home all year long,” Sweet said following the non-district loss to the Rockets. “We're working through some mental issues of not playing games at home, and we're playing some of the toughest teams in the city – Taft, MacArthur, Judson, Austin Akins. But when we get healthy and start clicking on all cylinders, we could be a tough team to beat.”

A slow start hampered the Hornets (6-11) against the streaking Rockets (10-8), who are 8-1 since receiving starters Quaylon Jones and Kent Mathews from the Rockets football team. In that streak was a 52-50 overtime win over then-top-ranked Flower Mound Marcus, which is currently 12-1 on the season.

Talented guard Raynell Ishman led the Rockets with 23 points in the upset of Flower Mound Marcus -- just as he led Judson with 29 points in the East Central contest. Five 3-pointers were key for Ishman, beginning with a three at the buzzer ending the first quarter, giving Judson a 10-6 lead that the Hornets couldn't overcome.

Although the Hornets hit 50 percent of their shots in the second quarter, led by Efrain Solis, two more 3-pointers from Ishman and a trey of free throws boosted the Judson lead to 25-16 at the half.

More importantly, though, was a charge called on Solis in the final minute of the half, his third of the game. Despite scoring the final four points of the quarter, closing a 13-point gap to the nine-point halftime deficit, Solis would have to watch his aggressive play in the second half.

“He's a pretty good scorer, he came into the game shooting over 45 percent from the three-point line,” coach Sweet said of Solis. “He didn't get on track early and fouls took him out of his game, but we competed and he led that charge, knocking down some shots.”

Just one minute into the third quarter Solis picked up his fourth foul, sending him to the bench for the rest of the quarter and for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter. But when he returned, he made an impact, hitting consecutive three-pointers that that helped trim a 14-point Judson lead to just seven, at 52-45, with 4:12 to play. But the hard-charging Rockets took advantage of an inside game that featured the resurgence of 6-foot-3 senior Trent Mathews, who picked up two fouls in the first two minutes of the game and was held scoreless until the fourth quarter. His six points in the final four minutes helped seal the game, as Solis fouled out with 2:18 to play and East Central trailing 58-47.

“We were competing to stay in the game. Unfortunately, they just had a few more plays,” Sweet said. “I think our guys got tired; our bench is not as deep as it normally is, as we have two guys out injured right now.

“This is a tough place to play, and Judson's a good basketball team and I just have to give them credit. They played hard, and I think we're learning to get to that point. I saw some bright spots from our team. Once we start playing more together and get into district play, I think we'll be OK.”

In addition to Solis' 14, Joseph Richardson scored 12 points while post John Baker was held to nine points, well under his season average of 16.3. Irving Levine hit two key 3-pointers in the third quarter for the Hornets and finished with eight points, while Christians Jones added four points.

Sweet hopes his team becomes very familiar with the new floor of Judson Gymnasium, which opened Oct. 1.

“We're going to be playing all five of our (home district) games here, on consecutive Saturdays beginning Jan. 15,” the coach said. “Judson is the closest gym anywhere around. It's got a nice feel, I like the double-sided seating and I hope our fans make the 15-minute trek over here to see our boys play.”

Sweet expects a tough District 28-5A slate, compounded by the lack of a “home” arena.

“South San's going to be tough, they have everybody back from last year. Highlands has one of the better players in the district, and Corpus Christi Carroll has two guards coming back that were either first-or-second team all-district,” he said. “All six teams will be fighting for those four playoff spots and somebody's going to come out with a district championship. If we practice hard, play smart and play our best, that could be us.”

The Hornets return to action Friday in a 2 p.m. tip-off at Cibolo Steele before traveling to play Wagner at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Jefferson Jan. 7, a 7:30 p.m. tilt.